Soil Movement
As part of the Blackland Prairie soil region, DFW is notorious for moving, highly expansive clay soils. These soils expansive soils are one of the reasons it is so important to keep your foundation evenly watered to help minimize movement. If soils in this region move enough to lift homes, it’s easy to see how they can cause ruts, lumps, and uneven territory in your yard. It will be impossible to keep a level yard without top- dressing with sand or a compost/soil mixture routinely. In heavy rain seasons or after watering, try to minimize mowing and foot traffic since such activities across a wet yard will leave holes and ruts.
Trees The landscaping and trees provided for your home have been chosen for their inherent durability to North Texas soils and weather conditions. Despite the hot weather, 95% of tree replacements come from over-watering as opposed to lack of water. To keep yourself from incurring this expense, be sure to water and fertilize trees appropriately.
Water and Fertilizer
Newly planted trees require roughly ten gallons per caliper inch per week during the hottest times of the year. This means a 4” caliper tree needs about 40 gallons a week in August. If your trees have a drip irrigation system in place, this means 3 days per week (M/W/F), one time a day, for 45 minutes each is sufficient. Be sure to keep the root ball moist, not over-saturated. You can easily check this by inserting a tree rod or metal stick about two feet into the ground close to the roots. If you can’t get the rod to push into the soil, it’s too dry. If you pull it out and it has muddy clay sticking to it, then the tree is getting too much water. Your tree also needs regular fertilization. Tree stakes are a slow release option and should be used 1-2 times per year, while liquid fertilizer provides a quick release and should be used 3-4 times per year. Trees that are yellowing (not from Autumn), are generally lacking in iron and need to be fed.
1
Powered by FlippingBook